The present invention relates to an infant warming apparatus and, more particularly, to an apparatus for providing the combined functions of an infant incubator and an infant warmer and which includes a radiant heater that can be redirected away from an infant positioned on an infant platform.
There are, of course, many devices or apparatus for the warming of an infant to supply the necessary heat to maintain the infant at a predetermined temperature. Of the various apparatus, there are infant warmers that are basically planar surfaces on which the infant is positioned and which planar surfaces generally include side guards to keep the infant safely within the confines of the apparatus. Infant warmers normally have an overhead radiant heater that is located above the infant and which thus radiates energy in the infrared spectrum to impinge upon the infant to maintain the infant at a warm, predetermined temperature. Since the infant is otherwise totally exposed to the surroundings, there is almost unlimited access to the infant by the attending personnel to perform various procedures on that infant. At typical infant warmer is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,517 of Falk et al and as discussed as prior art to that patent.
There are also infant incubators which are more confined enclosures that contain the infant within an enclosed controlled atmosphere in an infant compartment that provides heat to the infant and also may provide control of humidity in the enclosed environment. These incubators maintain the infant for long periods of time and include handholes to access the infant. Generally, there is, in addition, a larger access door that can be opened to access the infant or to insert or remove the infant to and from the incubator.
Such devices provide a good atmosphere to the infant and control that local environment within which the infant is located, however, it is sometime difficult to perform a wide variety of procedures on the infant due to the somewhat limited access to that infant. A typical infant incubator is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,824 of Koch et al.
At the present, there are also certain infant care apparatus that combine the functions of an infant warmer and an incubator. One such apparatus is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,570 of Beld et al where an overhead canopy or dome is movable between a position where it covers the base to form an environmental chamber and an upper position where the radiant energy is directed toward the infant but the environmental chamber is open to access the infant by the attending personnel.
Similarly, in Jones et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,539, there is disclosed another infant care apparatus that has a canopy containing a radiant heater that can move vertically between a lower position wherein the canopy seats against the periphery of upstanding sides of an infant platform to form, therebetween, an infant compartment for enclosing the infant and an upper position wherein the infant apparatus becomes an infant warmer and the radiant heater is energized to direct the infrared energy downwardly toward the infant resting upon the infant platform.
One of the drawbacks with the type of infant warming apparatus that combines the functions of an infant warmer and an infant incubator, however, is that the radiant heater is obviously brought to an elevated temperature in order to emit the infrared energy and that radiant heater continues to emit the radiant energy for periods of time, possible up to a few minutes or longer, even after the radiant heater has been de-energized.
As such, when the operator de-energizes the radiant heater to convert the infant warming apparatus from an infant warmer to an incubator, the canopy is lowered toward the infant resting on the infant platform while the radiant energy is still being emitted by the radiant heater since the caregiver wants the conversion to take place rather rapidly to maintain the infant in a warmed atmosphere. Thus, the normal lowering of the canopy containing the radiant heater does not allow sufficient time for the radiant heater to cool to fully terminate the emission of radiant energy and, therefore, there is a residual infrared energy that continues to be emitted after electrical power has been shut off to the radiant heater.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide some protection to the infant to prevent that continued emission of radiant energy from reaching the infant and which protection is sufficiently rapid such that the lowering of the canopy containing that radiant heater is not delayed so that the infant warming apparatus can be readily converted from an infant warmer to an incubator in accordance with normal intent of the apparatus.
One viable solution to the problem is shown and described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,539 of Jones et al. In that Jones et al patent, a door, or set of doors can be opened and closed and, therefore, when the apparatus is being converted from an infant warmer to an infant incubator, the door(s) automatically close to block the path of the infrared radiant energy from reaching the infant.
While the use of a blocking device is effective, it would be advantageous to have other methods or mechanisms to achieve the protection of the infant from the undesirable infrared radiation reaching that infant under the aforedescribed conditions.